Setting
Ulyssess looked down at the grave before him, it decorated with flowers, freshly picked, the grave stone of white marble and granite, his long white hair reaching his lower back yet looked so soft. He would slide the black glove from his left pale, slender hand with sharp black claws on them onto the grave stone, slowly sliding his hand over the top of it, so smooth and water from the rain tapped off of it, wetting his hand and he would look at the flowers so vibrate with red, white, yellow and blues only for them to decay instantly as his pale yellowish hues narrowed their focus on them.
He would then turn his head to his shoulder, hearing the taps and stomps of booted feet...''Sir! We have company!'' All of a sudden the pale man warning Ulyssess would stabbed in the chest with a pike. ''Rift walker killed.'' Then as the corpse of the Rift walker turned to black ash only leaving black blood on the pike itself as evidence of the dead rift walker's existence the soldier looked up and the smug grin disappeared.
Ulyssess would now slowly turn around and slipped his glove on again and his piercing eyes looked stared into the soldier's and he grinned sadistically. ''What a shame...he would one of my favored men...'' He would walk closer, his height easily towering the man's. ''S-stay back!''
Ulyssess would give out a short laugh and he suddenly became black smoke then reappeared at the side of the soldier to his fear and put his slender, clawed hand on his face. ''Decay...'' He'd whisper as the man started to decompose slowly to Ulyssess enjoyment, he'd slam the man down to the damp cobble walk path in the grave yard on this rainy day and bent down, madness in his raging eyes, the redness around his eyes and the black veins around them that spread outwards was a frighting sight.
He would grin, he was on top of the man, his feet at both sides of him and his hands on each side of the soldier's face, Ulyssess's face right in front of the man's his chilling breath giving the man reason to scream in terror...''Take the embrace of a dead man..'' He'd say and continue to use death magic on the man, to which the man's hands were on the wrists of Ulyssess, trying to push them from his face only to grow weaker, Ulyssess just laughed finding excitement from this activity...
This would when other soldiers came four to be exact, Ulyssess looked up at them grinning...''Will you accept him in his new form?'' He'd ask as his suddenly looked at the partially death cursed man, his jaw line revealing his bone structure and Ulyssess would kiss the screaming man's forehead, even went far to lick his fore head then...disappear in a cloud of black..
As the men finally ran to the screaming man, the left side of his face was bone...but he was still alive...screaming in pain and the men were shocked grabbing the screaming man and started to run with him in their embrace to the magic district of the city...
''It burns! Stop the pain!'' The death kissed man screamed, his left side of his face much like a corpse...
''Move! Injured coming through!'' They would all chant, town folk gasping a the sight, hiding their children's eyes from the sight and chatter started to go around the city...''A Rift Lord entered the city without being seen! We are unsafe! The Queen must know what to do!''
And so...the town's folk stood in front of the castle, Magic and machine wielders all alike..
Ulyssess appeared at the gate to his domain in the far west of Zeelasa and grinned as his followers bowed at his presence. He would nod to the subjects as he pasted the his adviser ran to him from behind...
''Did your trip go well Sir Furor?''
They would continue to walk, he would not answer till they were in his throne room.
''I shook the city with my presence...that is all...''
His Adviser would frown..
''You know what I was asking Sir Furor..''
Ulyssess would turn, using his left clawed index finger to lift the adviser of his up from the ground and put his pale face up at his.
''And I didn't answer...leave it alone...and me.''
He would flick his finger and the adviser would be ported of from his throne room within black smoke and he would sit in his chair, slouched and resting his chin on his palm and one leg crossed over the other...
''Oblivion is the fate of all things..''
The sun was already at its highest point in the day, but it was still chilly. This area was forever in the state of autumn, the tress eternally draped in cloth of red. Nightly they shed their leaves to keep their roots warm, it gets freezing cold on certain nights. Ayes has been in this area for nearly half a year, the longest and closest he has been to home in a while. He hadn't bothered to actually visit it at the peak of the mountain, but instead stayed at a village at the base. The small house he lived in at the village was rented out to him with the condition that he helped the villagers with work. With the crops harvested, he had too much free time on his hands and became incredibly bored, ,maybe it was time to move on, he had already paid his respects at the base of the mountain. Coming up with his decision, he stood up, shrugging off the blanket of leaves that covered him and then made his way towards the village. A gust of the biting cold wind paid the forest a sudden visit and blew a layer of leaves into the air. Bodies could be seen, evaporating into a black vapor, mixing with the red to form some strange but mysteriously beautiful swirls in the air. The cold preserved the rift raffs quite well.
"Where have you been all day Eyes?" he was probably asked a hundred times going back to his house. He just grinned and said he drank too much last night in the celebration and got lost in the woods, he ignored the fact that they still couldn't pronounce his name right. The village was quite crowded today despite there being no more crops to tend to, everyone was up to their usual tasks. The baker was bringing out a batch of his famous steamed meatbuns, the girls were still grouped at the bookstore reading their new strange book that wasn't so new because they've read it who knows how many times. Everything was normal, as if last night's events never happened, and the party was days past. Ayes opened the creaky door to the small but warm cottage at the end of the street where he had been residing for so many months. He realized that this was probably the first time in forever that he settled down in one place for so long, and decided it was actually pretty nice. He might actually miss the calmness of living here, maybe he'll come back one day, marry a girl and end his life as a vagabond. Naaaaah, no way, the girls here are too religious, pretty but not his type. Besides this was too close to his past and he still had places to go, people to meet, and landmarks to see before he laid down for good.
Before leaving the village, Ayes stopped by and picked up a few meatbuns for the road, and several bottles of granny's delicious honeyed and chilled leaf water. He left without any goodbyes or tears, but looking at the village at a distance and the smell of the still warm buns and coldness of the bottles of leaf water made him feel incredibly sad. Farewells with crying people weren't his thing but he had warned the elder not to not allow anyone up into the mountain for a while, he understood what Ayes meant and where he was going. The elder told him he was welcome back anytime. Clever old bastard, he was the village elder after all.
Ayes turned to the direction of the big city, maybe he'll come back someday, but for now he is on the road again and this meatbun needs attacking.
OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM
Daria overlooked her people with a gentle gaze, eyes fixtated on her. She knew a speech was expected, and a speech she knew she must be the one to give. A speech of calming, yet a speech of warning. So she crossed her hands and spoke to her people.
"The good citizens of Zeelasa, it has been brought to my attention that a Rift Lord has entered our precious city undetected, in the recent hours. We beg you remain calm, and will send out warriors to defend us. However, we shall not provoke the Rift Lords further. Instead, our war will remain as in our defense at the time being, and in defense only. Eventually, I daresay we will be forced to take offensive preportions, although we are not yet, I am afriad, prepared for an all out war with the Rifters. However, we will prepare, should we be forced to take such a stance. So worry not, yet take heed. Take necessary precautions to keep you and your families safe, keep the young ones inside. In case of attack, I would be glad to grant the victims shelter within my own home, yet I pray that none of you are to be forced to accept my offers. Warriors will patrol ever street, and I beg you stay out of their way. I know some of you have low tolerance for the city's soldiers, but they are here for your own protection. Also, if anyone at all, of any age, has any inkling even of the movements of the Rift Lords, I ask you come forward. There is no need to fear: your revelations will remain annonymous, between you and I, and my advisors. No one else need to know. My people, have patience. We are doing all we can to protect you from these monstrosities, yet we need your cooperation in order to succeed in our efforts."
Daria let out her breath, raising a hand to her people. "Please, have faith. Keep faith in us, and we will in you. We will, ultimately, prevail, as long as we have your full support and cooperation." She leaned over the edge of the balcony. "If anyone has any information for us, please wait at the castle gate. Everyday, my guards there shall wait, all you must do is speak a single word. Audience," she let the word roll of her tongue. "But, at this point, I must ask, return to your homes and jobs, we have this under control for the time being."
He was interrupted as he heard a scream. Whose scream? He didnât care. The thief swipe out his dagger, looking around in safety. He wondered what is happening. His heart pounded so much it hurts. The little bird took both of his hands on the dagger, then put them on his chest, trying to calm himself down. Soon, his eyes meet as a crowd was around him. He looked back; he was in front of the castle. Perfect.
The thief didnât care much about the speech; he needed to act quickly. In fact, if he wasnât, he could be arrested. There was too much around him. He hustled through the crowd, taking few coins to those who doesnât look. When it was clear in front of him, he took his steps to run away. He thought that they wonât think that a young child would look suspicious to run away. Even, he looked quite scared; most would understand. He was scared, but not for what is happening. He heard the Queen talking, but he was too far away to understand.
He quickly escaped in an unoccupied street, closing his eyesâŠ
âŠHe opened his eyes as he looked around; the street was as usually busy. He looked around, not sure where to go. The child let out a small chuckle, humming to himself. He skipped through the rocks, spreading his arms like the wings of a bird flying. He was wondering what his parents were doing. He saw his house right up ahead, but he was pulled into an alley, throw against the wall. Once he hit the floor, he heard grown-upsâ laugher. Under the shock, he wasnât sure what they were saying. He heard muffled words like âCutâ, âWingsâ, âBiddingâ, âFortuneâ. He wasnât sure how to piece the words, but he knew that one of the strangers took his hair and pulled backward, forcing to his knees as he felt the cold blade on his throat. The person behind whispered to the poor child, but he wasnât sure how to respond but cry for help. He closed his eyes, hearing the laugher changing into screams. He fell to the ground, feeling too weak to open his eyes and he fell unconscious. Few minutes later, he was shook by one of the guards, asking if everything was okay. The child groaned lightly in pain, rubbing his head. The guard asked what happened. Siero looked around, seeing blood sprayed on the walls on the ground. He didnât responded, and the guard nodded in understanding, asking the child to go back into his home. ThenâŠ
âŠThen, he wasnât sure how the rest of the puzzle is placed. All he knew, it was the most odd moment of his life. He started to skip through the street like the kid he used to be. The house in front of him looked so different. It was once the place of his childhood. Now⊠It was just place; the house of people he doesnât know about. The thief stopped in front of the small wooden gate, looking up to the window. He took a moment to let his memories about his parents go through his brain until he heard people coming back. He took his leave, putting the hood of his cloak over his head as he went another way. He was going to his favorite spot for hiding; a warehouse. It was his favorite because there was often people to talk to, often other thieves, but mostly nice people. It was also there where he met his mentor, and where he was given the nickname âThe little birdâ. For now, he hid behind a crate, waiting for someone to come or the sun to go down.
He had more than enough for this week.
It was a simple matter when he arrived. The woman's purse had been stolen, though in reality she'd only dropped it at a nearby stall. He shook his head as he walked down the street and leaned against a crate. So far, a good day. Then he noticed someone hiding behind the crate. He couldn't be more than sixteen, but he had the look of a thief about him. He sighed and put a hand to his blade. "So, how much did you pick out of unsuspecting pockets today little thief?"
The little bird looked at the guard by the corner of his eyes, saying: ăSo⊠are we, you know, have to play cat and mice again?ă He knew the guard would chase after him, and so he kicked the crate towards the guard, giving him a small head start to run away. He knew the guard too well to preoccupy if he was actually chasing him. He ran down the streets, rushing through the people, not caring if they would complain. He had to run, a lot, and he found the time to climb up a building. Although, the clumsy thief wasnât watching his steps as he looked behind himself for a second, and he tripped over something. He wasnât sure what it was, but he tumbled down into an alley. He groaned a bit in pain, holding his head. Little he knew that he was bleeding. The blood flowed down from his forehead to his neck as he ventured farther in the alley. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in front of a dead-end. He turned around, not even caring if the guard was there or not. He looked down on the ground, his dagger sheathed as he put his hands up in the air. He waited for the guard to say something or at least to approach.
He wouldnât let himself captured again, not after what happened last time. It may have left a mark in his mind, but it made him even more determined to steal more stuff. He was surrendering, but in his mind, he had other plans.
He escaped into another alley, where a being in a cloak waiting Siero. The being couldnât be described since only the cloak was seen. Everything else was covered. Siero approached the person in question, pulling out the ring as the being tend a gloved hand. Siero put the ring into the beingâs hand, the latter closing his hand once the ring hit the palm of the glove. The kid was waiting for the prize of his job, but the being just started to walk away. Siero blocked the beingâs way with his dagger, saying: ă I wonât let you go away without paying me. Either pay me or die! ă The being didnât responded as it only walked up to Siero. The mysterious person delivered a punch into Sieroâs face. The little bird didnât expected that, but it was so quick, that he fell into the street. The punch was too much for the poor little guy that he fainted, the cloaked being disappearing from anyoneâs sight.
- 8 posts here • Page 1 of 1